Mitsui Chemicals to restart naphtha cracker

10-May-19

Japan’s Mitsui Chemicals is expected to restart its Ichihara naphtha cracker by May 12 following a glitch last week, as per industry sources, as reported by Reuters. The unexpected shutdown of the firm’s 612,000 tpa cracker came as several other crackers in Japan and South Korea were undergoing or about to start scheduled maintenance. Asia’s naphtha market has been persistently weak due to ample supplies. The Asian naphtha crack at US$37.60/ton on Wednesday was the lowest since Feb. 14 this year.